Abstract Zhouyi enjoys lofty status in the hearts of Chinese people. As a significant master work in Daoism, the Zhouyi cantong qi (Token for the Agreement of the Three According to the Zhou Changes ) was composed in the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220) and is characterized by its syncretism of the principles of the Changes , Huang-Lao Daoist school, and alchemical refinery. In virtue of the cosmology consisting of yueti najia (correlating moon phases, heavenly stems and earthly branches with the eight trigrams), interchangeability between yin and yang forces, and the waning and waxing of the twelve sovereign hexagrams, Cantong qi initiated new approaches to the exegesis of the Zhouyi , and expanded its influence in Daoism. After Tang (618–907) and Song (960–1279) dynasties, with the transformation of alchemy refinery theory from cosmology to ontology based on human heart-mind and innate tendencies, the transformation from external alchemy refinery theory to that of internal alchemy refinery was also accomplished. The latter treats the human body as a micro-cosmos. The exegesis of the Zhouyi from the perspective of alchemy refinery by Zhouyi cantong qi continued to push forward the transmission and influence of the Zhou Changes in Daoism for over a dozen of centuries.
Yiping Sun (Mon,) studied this question.